PayPoint

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

PayPoint is a system for paying bills in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland ran by PayPoint plc. The network is installed at over 20,000 convenience stores and petrol forecourts. Generally, payments are made in cash but other forms of payment such as credit/debit cards and cheques may be used dependent upon PayPoint and/or the retailer.

The PayPoint network was set-up in 1996 providing a convenient place for customers to pay towards a limited range of utility companies' payment schemes. Over the years PayPoint has increased the variety of clients on offer and now has a client list of over 700. Some PayPoint agents have integrated the PayPoint system into their own EPoS systems. However, the vast majority (circa 16,000) use a small counter-top terminal provided by PayPoint. The service offers customers the opportunity to top-up their mobile phones, pay for services such as gas, electricity and TV Licences at the same time as their shopping. This is extremely useful for those who do not have a bank account and may not even have a regular income as they can choose when and how much to pay. The customer does not pay a surcharge for using the service; the costs are recouped from the organisation whose bills they are paying.

Electricity key

Payments using PayPoint can be loosely grouped into two broad types: those which either pay off an existing debt or add "credit" to an account, and those which "charge" (in the same sense as one charges a battery) a "smart" token which then contains the credit. In the first category is the ability to pay Council Tax and traditional utility (phone, gas, electricity) bills, possibly in irregular instalments which would not normally be accepted. More recently, PayPoint terminals have been able to offer E top-up, and print vouchers, for pay as you go mobile phones. The second category includes Quantum smart cards and similar electricity "smart keys" which are now widely used in place of coin-based electricity meters.

PayPoint can also be used to pay the London congestion charge and is the only over-the-counter payment point for TV Licensing. The company has also branched out to provide retailers with a credit/debit card processing facility on their payment terminals as well as in-store ATMs connected to the LINK network.

Rivals to PayPoint include Payzone, Post Office Ltd (in the UK) and An Post's PostPoint network (in Ireland) all of which offer similar services.